KCS and East Baton Rouge police host Officer on a Train event

Kansas City Southern (KCS) and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office will host an Officer on a Train event on May 15 to promote public safety at railroad crossings in Baton Rouge, La. The event will start at the KCS Yard.

In an Officer on a Train event, KCS works with local law enforcement to bring officers into a locomotive cab for a real-time perspective of motorist and pedestrian activity as a train moves through the community. Meanwhile, other law enforcement officers are stationed along the railroad right-of-way, watching for crossing and trespasser violations and issuing citations.

A comparison of statistics from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration reveals that a motorist's collision with a train is far more likely to result in a fatality than a collision between two motor vehicles.

KCS Public Safety Director Allen Pepper stated, "Working with local law enforcement to raise awareness about the importance of safety at highway-rail grade crossings and the dangers of trespassing on railroad property is simply the best way to make a marked difference in this important public safety matter."

KCS is an advocate of Operation Lifesaver, an international, non-profit education and awareness program dedicated to ending collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and on railroads' rights-of-way.